Uncontested Divorce With a Car Loan Larger Than the Car and Separate Student Loans

The Situation

Two spouses who had been married for about six years and separated for more than two years decided to end the marriage by agreement. One lived in Florida and the other lived in another state. They had no children and no real estate, and neither had a retirement account. What they did have were two vehicles, one of which was financed, and one spouse's large student loans from graduate school.

The financed car was worth a little less than what was still owed on it. That is a common situation, and it was the main thing the agreement had to handle clearly.

What They Agreed On

The Marital Settlement Agreement covered each item in plain terms:

• The husband keeps the financed car, pays the loan, and holds the wife harmless on it.
• The wife keeps her older car, which has no loan.
• The wife keeps responsibility for her own student loans. The husband was never a co-signer or joint borrower on them.
• Each spouse keeps his or her own checking account. There were no joint accounts.
• Both spouses waive alimony permanently.
• The wife's former name is restored when the judgment is entered.
• The husband pays the court costs and notary fees, and each spouse pays his or her own attorney's fees.

If the title, loan or insurance on either car still needed to be moved into one spouse's name, the other spouse agreed to sign what was needed within 10 days after a written request.

How the Case Moved

The spouses hired the firm and the packet was drafted right away. The review email went to both spouses, and an updated set of documents followed a day later. Photo identification for both spouses had to be on file before signing could be scheduled, because the notary has to confirm each signer's identity and the names in the documents have to match the identification.

Because the spouses lived in different states, they signed through remote online notarization, which let each one join a video session from home. The signed documents were filed with the court 11 days after the spouses hired the firm. The judge entered the Final Judgment 6 days after filing, which was 17 days after they hired the firm.

What Slowed It Down

Mostly the paperwork around identification. The documents could not be signed until both spouses' photo identification was in and the legal names had been checked against it. Once that was done, signing and filing moved quickly.

What Other Couples Can Take From This

A debt larger than the asset it is tied to does not have to hold up a divorce. In this case the agreement named who kept the car, who paid the loan, and what the other spouse would sign if a lender or the state needed a title change. The student loans stayed with the spouse who borrowed them, and the agreement said so directly. Each spouse is responsible for reviewing every page before signing, and that review is what lets a case like this move without a hearing.